Did you know that some lawn mowers are now imprinted with warning that the mower is not meant to be turned on its side and used to trimmed hedges? That warning had to be included because someone actually tried to trim hedges with a lawn mower. Warnings, rules, and laws that tell us NOT to do something get enacted because someone is currently doing the thing that must now be prohibited. It is an important concept to remember because despite the fact that we have countless rules, laws, acts, and regulations, those same rules, laws, acts, and regulations continue to be violated. This is certainly true of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act in St. Augustine.
The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act or RESPA wans initially passed in the early 1970s by the U.S. Congress to prohibit companies involved in the real estate market from providing kickbacks to one another that inflated the cost for the buyer and encouraging bait-and-switch schemes. The aim of the act was to make sure that all costs associated with a real estate transaction were transparent so that consumer demand would provide the competition that drove prices. At the time, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act was overseen by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, but RESPA is now under the auspices of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Despite the existence of RESPA, however, kickbacks are ongoing in the St. Augustine area. While legislators and industry leaders battle it out over how to best address whether or not modifications to the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act need to be made and, if so, what they should be, those currently involved in real estate transactions may want to ensure that they are not being taken in by lenders, realtors, or contractors who are in violation of any aspect of the Act. To help guarantee that you are being dealt with fairly if you are preparing to close on a home or are entering in to any other kind of real estate agreement, you can work with a real estate attorney in the St. Augustine area who is has experience with RESPA and who will be able to evaluate your situation to make sure that everything is above board.
The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act in St. Augustine is in place to protect consumers from dodgy lenders, contractors, and/or realtors who might try to make a quick buck off of kickbacks while bilking the consumer. In most instances the Act does serve to protect you. However, just because RESPA is in place doesn’t mean that there are not those who violate it on a regular basis. Make sure you are protected by consulting with a real estate attorney before entering into any transactions.
If lenders, contractors, or realtors have violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act in St. Augustine, to get help you can contact Pycraft Legal Services, LLC. Visit them online.
